Photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses a photoelectric ball protection device for a reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle. A photoelectric ball (2) is arranged at the belly of the unmanned aerial vehicle in front of a nose landing gear (1); a supporting mechanism (3) of the nose landing gear (1) is connected with a front fork (4) through a pair of double-lug bolts, and the front fork (4) is connected with a front wheel (5); the double-lug bolts are respectively a strong bolt (6) and a weak bolt (7); under the condition that the airplane heavily lands or rushes out of a runway, the weak bolt (7) is cut off, and the lower part of the front fork (4) can be stopped after rotating around the strong bolt (6) by a preset angle; after locking, the total descending height of the nose landing gear (1) is smaller than the sum of the total compression distance of a buffer of the nose landing gear (1) and the safe distance between the photoelectric ball (2) and the ground. The survival probability of the photoelectric ball in airplane heavy landing and runway rushing-out accidents can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of overall design of unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular relates to an optoelectronic ball protection device for a reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle. Background Art

[0002] The optoelectronic reconnaissance / laser designation device (EO, or optoelectronic ball) is an important device on reconnaissance drones, and is even the most expensive device on some models. According to the field use experience of a certain type of drone, in some accidents, such as hard landing and runoff, the drone often breaks the optoelectronic ball due to the breakage of the front landing gear, causing huge economic losses to the user. Compared with the landing gear and part of the body structure, the repair and replacement cost of the optoelectronic ball after damage is higher. An effective protection solution for the optoelectronic ball is an urgent need for users of reconnaissance drones, and they can even accept sacrificing the landing gear or part of the body structure in exchange for the survival of the optoelectronic ball in an accident. With this demand as the background, the fixed-wing reconnaissance drone with EO mounted on the belly is taken as the research object. In the case of hard landing or runoff of the drone, it is a technical problem to be solved to design a device that can effectively protect the optoelectronic ball. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a photoelectric ball protection device for a reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle. The present invention can improve the survival probability of the photoelectric ball in the event of a heavy landing or runway run-off accident.

[0004] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: a reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle photoelectric ball protection device comprises: a front landing gear, a photoelectric ball is arranged on the belly of the unmanned aerial vehicle in front of the front landing gear; the support mechanism of the front landing gear is connected to the front fork via a pair of double-ear bolts, and the front fork is connected to the front wheel; the double-ear bolts are respectively a strong bolt and a weak bolt; in the case of a heavy landing of the aircraft or running off the runway, the weak bolt is sheared off, and the lower part of the front fork can be stopped after rotating around the strong bolt at a preset angle; after stopping, the total descent height of the front landing gear is less than the sum of the full compression distance of the front landing gear buffer and the safe distance of the photoelectric ball from the ground.

[0005] In the aforementioned reconnaissance UAV photoelectric ball protection device, there is a baffle door on the belly of the UAV next to the photoelectric ball; in the initial state, the baffle door covers the belly of the UAV; when the front landing gear is broken, the baffle door rotates upright to withstand the ground impact load.

[0006] In the aforementioned reconnaissance UAV optoelectronic ball protection device, one end of the baffle door is connected to the rotary actuator, and the other end is connected to the baffle door lock; when the front landing gear is broken, the baffle door lock is unlocked, and the rotary actuator drives the baffle door to rotate and stand upright.

[0007] In the aforementioned reconnaissance UAV optoelectronic ball protection device, after the baffle door is rotated and erected, it should exceed the extension line of the design boundary of the front wheel breaking point.

[0008] In the aforementioned reconnaissance UAV photoelectric ball protection device, the rotary actuator is driven by an emergency gas cylinder.

[0009] In the aforementioned reconnaissance UAV optoelectronic ball protection device, the baffle cabin door lock includes an emergency blasting redundancy design; when the baffle cabin door lock fails to be unlocked normally, the baffle cabin door lock is detonated to achieve unlocking.

[0010] In the aforementioned reconnaissance type UAV photoelectric ball protection device, the photoelectric ball is connected to the protection cabin on the belly of the UAV via a telescopic protection mechanism; when the front landing gear is broken, the telescopic protection mechanism of the photoelectric ball is driven to retract into the protection cabin.

[0011] In the aforementioned reconnaissance-type UAV photoelectric ball protection device, the telescopic protection mechanism is connected to the structural mounting support, a photoelectric ball is fixed on the structural mounting support, and the structural mounting support can slide along the side wall of the protection cabin; a pop-up mechanism is provided between the structural mounting support and the protection cabin; when the photoelectric ball is installed and calibrated, a locking mechanism is used to lock the photoelectric ball in the calibrated installation position; after the locking mechanism is unlocked, the structural mounting support is bounced upward by the pop-up mechanism, driving the photoelectric ball to retract into the protection cabin.

[0012] In the aforementioned photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV, the photoelectric ball retracts the protection cabin to be partially / completely retracted.

[0013] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The present invention designs a photoelectric ball protection device based on a mature UAV platform, and the cost is controllable.

[0014] The invention comprises a three-layer protection design, wherein the front landing gear is controlled to be sheared off to bear the first ground impact load, the retracting device protects the photoelectric ball away from the ground, and the baffle door bears the second ground impact load.

[0015] The present invention greatly improves the survivability of the photoelectric ball of a reconnaissance UAV in accidents such as heavy landing and runway runoff, and reduces the maintenance cost risk in a single UAV accident.

[0016] Since the photoelectric ball is usually the most expensive mission payload on a reconnaissance drone, the application of the protection method described in the present invention can greatly improve the survivability of the photoelectric ball, thereby improving the market competitiveness of the reconnaissance drone.

[0017] The technical solution of the present invention is easy to implement on a UAV. The modification of the landing gear part can be completed by replacing the front fork with double-ear bolts; the integration of the photoelectric ball telescopic device can be achieved by only improving the local design of the photoelectric ball installation compartment; the newly added equipment such as the emergency gas cylinder, the rotary actuator and the baffle door lock have a small total weight and occupy a small space, and are easy to arrange on the UAV. The logic implementation of the mechanism can be achieved by upgrading the existing flight control computer software of the UAV. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the photoelectric ball on the drone;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a diagram of a broken control surface on the front landing gear;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a double-ear bolt and single-side shearing;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the photoelectric ball retractable mechanism and the baffle hatch;

[0022] Figure 5 Implement logic for photoelectric bulb protection devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] Example 1. A reconnaissance type UAV photoelectric ball protection device, see Figure 1-Figure 5 , including: a front landing gear 1, a photoelectric ball 2 is arranged at the belly of the UAV in front of the front landing gear 1; a supporting mechanism 3 of the front landing gear 1 is connected to a front fork 4 through a pair of double-ear bolts, and the front fork 4 is connected to a front wheel 5; the double-ear bolts are respectively a strong bolt 6 and a weak bolt 7; in the case of a heavy landing of the aircraft or running off the runway, the weak bolt 7 is sheared off, and the lower part of the front fork 4 can be stopped after rotating around the strong bolt 6 at a preset angle; after stopping, the total descent height of the front landing gear 1 is less than the sum of the full compression distance of the buffer of the front landing gear 1 and the safe distance of the photoelectric ball 2 from the ground.

[0025] There is also a baffle door 8 on the belly of the drone next to the aforementioned photoelectric ball 2; in the initial state, the baffle door 8 covers the belly of the drone; when the front landing gear 1 is broken, the baffle door 8 rotates and stands upright to withstand the ground impact load.

[0026] One end of the aforementioned baffle door 8 is connected to the rotary actuator 9, and the other end is connected to the baffle door lock 10; when the front landing gear 1 is broken, the baffle door lock 10 is unlocked, and the rotary actuator 9 drives the baffle door 8 to rotate and stand up.

[0027] The aforementioned rotary actuator 9 is driven by an emergency gas cylinder 11 .

[0028] The aforementioned baffle door lock 10 includes an emergency explosion redundancy design; when the baffle door lock 10 fails to be unlocked normally, the baffle door lock 10 is detonated to achieve unlocking.

[0029] The aforementioned photoelectric ball 2 is connected to the protection cabin 13 on the belly of the UAV via the telescopic protection mechanism 12; when the front landing gear 1 is broken, the photoelectric ball 2 is driven by the telescopic protection mechanism 12 and retracts into the protection cabin 13.

[0030] The aforementioned telescopic protection mechanism 12 is connected to the structural mounting support 14, on which the photoelectric ball 2 is fixed, and the structural mounting support 14 can slide along the side wall of the protection cabin 13; a pop-up mechanism 15 is provided between the structural mounting support 14 and the protection cabin 13; when the photoelectric ball 2 is installed and calibrated, the locking mechanism 16 is used to lock the photoelectric ball 2 in the calibrated installation position; after the locking mechanism 16 is unlocked, the structural mounting support 14 is bounced upward by the pop-up mechanism 15, driving the photoelectric ball 2 to retract into the protection cabin 13.

[0031] The aforementioned photoelectric ball 2 retracts the protection cabin 13 to be partially / completely retracted.

[0032] The photoelectric bulb protection device of the present invention is divided into three parts:

[0033] (1) Extension and retraction of the photoelectric ball. This function is achieved by designing the installation floor of the photoelectric ball as a retractable device;

[0034] (2) Design of controllable weak link of nose landing gear. This feature releases the impact load of a ground impact by shearing the bolts;

[0035] (3) Design of the baffle door. The baffle door is used to protect the photoelectric ball after the landing gear is completely broken. It is the last protective measure before the photoelectric ball touches the ground;

[0036] like Figure 1 In the case of a hard landing or runaway, the front landing gear bears the first ground impact load. If the front landing gear breaks, the photoelectric ball may touch the ground. Consider allowing the front landing gear to break in a controlled manner at an appropriate position to release the impact load and keep a safe height between the photoelectric ball and the ground. Figure 2 , Figure 3 The double-ear bolts on the front fork are one strong and one weak. Under the impact load, the weak bolt is sheared off, and the lower part of the front fork rotates around the strong bolt at a certain angle and then stops. At this time, the height of the front landing gear should be less than the sum of the full compression distance of the buffer and the safe distance from the ground. After the first ground impact load, the front landing gear may still break or the aircraft may dive to the ground, that is, it will be subjected to the second ground impact load. This impact load is borne by the baffle door, and the photoelectric ball telescopic device protects the photoelectric ball away from the ground.

[0037] like Figure 4In the telescopic device of the photoelectric ball, the structural mounting support of the photoelectric ball is a movable support that can slide up and down along the vertical guide rail. When the photoelectric ball is installed and calibrated, the locking mechanism 16 is used to lock the photoelectric ball in the calibrated installation position. The locking mechanism 16 is unlocked, and the mounting support of the photoelectric ball is bounced upward by the pop-up mechanism, and the mounting support pushes the photoelectric ball partly into the upper cabin (limited by the actual available cabin height on the aircraft), thereby increasing the height of the photoelectric ball away from the ground.

[0038] The baffle door is closed when the drone is in normal state, and the baffle door lock is locked. When the door unlocking control device receives the unlocking signal, the emergency gas cylinder and the baffle door lock and the gas path of the rotary actuator are connected, and the baffle door lock and the rotary actuator are opened in sequence. The baffle door lock contains an emergency blasting margin. If the door unlocking control device does not receive the unlocking success signal fed back by the baffle door lock within a certain period of time, it will send an ignition signal to the door lock to detonate the door lock.

[0039] The specific implementation steps are:

[0040] Step 1: Based on the landing sinking speed, landing sideslip angle and landing weight of the drone, the aircraft management computer determines whether a hard landing occurs;

[0041] Step 2: If the result of the determination is a hard landing, the flight control computer sends an unlocking signal to the locking mechanism 16 and the baffle door lock 10. If the result of the determination is not a hard landing, proceed to step 6;

[0042] Step 3: After receiving the unlocking signal, the locking mechanism 16 unlocks the photoelectric ball pop-up mechanism, and the photoelectric ball is stored upward in the upper compartment;

[0043] Step 4: After receiving the unlocking signal, the baffle door lock 10 unlocks the baffle door.

[0044] Step 5: If the baffle door lock 10 fails to unlock successfully within a certain period of time, the flight control computer sends an ignition signal to the baffle door lock 10 to detonate the door lock, and the process ends;

[0045] Step 6: The UAV operator determines whether the UAV has overrun the runway. If so, an emergency protection command is sent to the UAV through the ground station.

[0046] Step 7: After the UAV receives the emergency protection command from the ground station through the link, the flight control computer sends an unlocking signal to the locking mechanism 16 and the baffle door lock 10 respectively and proceeds to step 3.

[0047] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is described in detail. The unexplained part is a conventional technology. However, the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle photoelectric ball protection device, characterized in that: include: A front landing gear (1) is provided with a photoelectric ball (2) at the belly of the unmanned aerial vehicle in front of the front landing gear (1); a supporting mechanism (3) of the front landing gear (1) is connected to a front fork (4) via a pair of double-ear bolts, and the front fork (4) is connected to a front wheel (5); the double-ear bolts are respectively a strong bolt (6) and a weak bolt (7); in the case of a heavy landing of the aircraft or running off the runway, the weak bolt (7) is sheared off, and the lower part of the front fork (4) can be stopped after rotating around the strong bolt (6) at a preset angle; after stopping, the total descending height of the front landing gear (1) is less than the sum of the full compression distance of the front landing gear (1) buffer and the safe distance of the photoelectric ball (2) from the ground.

2. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 1 is characterized in that: There is also a baffle door (8) on the belly of the drone next to the photoelectric ball (2); in an initial state, the baffle door (8) covers the belly of the drone; when the front landing gear (1) is broken, the baffle door (8) rotates and stands upright to withstand the ground impact load.

3. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2 is characterized in that: One end of the baffle door (8) is connected to the rotary actuator (9), and the other end is connected to the baffle door lock (10); when the front landing gear (1) is broken, the baffle door lock (10) is unlocked, and the rotary actuator (9) drives the baffle door (8) to rotate and stand up.

4. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 2 is characterized in that: After the baffle hatch (8) is rotated and erected, it should exceed the extension line of the design boundary of the front wheel break point.

5. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The rotary actuator (9) is driven by an emergency gas cylinder (11).

6. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The baffle hatch door lock (10) includes an emergency explosion redundancy design; when the baffle hatch door lock (10) fails to be unlocked normally, the baffle hatch door lock (10) is detonated to achieve unlocking.

7. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The photoelectric ball (2) is connected to a protective cabin (13) on the belly of the unmanned aerial vehicle via a telescopic protective mechanism (12); when the front landing gear (1) is broken, the photoelectric ball (2) is driven by the telescopic protective mechanism (12) to retract into the protective cabin (13).

8. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The telescopic protection mechanism (12) is connected to a structural mounting support (14), a photoelectric ball (2) is fixed on the structural mounting support (14), and the structural mounting support (14) can slide along the side wall of the protection cabin (13); a pop-up mechanism (15) is provided between the structural mounting support (14) and the protection cabin (13); when the photoelectric ball (2) is installed and calibrated, the locking mechanism (16) is used to lock the photoelectric ball (2) at the calibrated installation position; after the locking mechanism (16) is unlocked, the structural mounting support (14) is popped up by the pop-up mechanism (15), driving the photoelectric ball (2) to retract into the protection cabin (13).

9. The photoelectric ball protection device for reconnaissance type UAV according to claim 7 is characterized in that: The photoelectric ball (2) is retracted into the protection cabin (13) to be partially / completely retracted.

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